This Week in the Art Market – Friday 27th October

Art Market News, Editorial

From Singapore's Affordable Art Fair offering curated, accessible art to Paris+ par Art Basel's resounding success, the global art scene is buzzing. Also, discover Toronto's rising international art stars and how new tech 'Nightshade' is empowering artists against AI copyright infringement. A pulse on the art market you can't afford to miss.

Affordable Art Fair Returns Bigger and Better

Singapore's popular Affordable Art Fair returns this year from 10-12 Nov, this time taking over a larger venue at the F1 Pit Building. As per usual, the fair promises to bring audiences works at an affordable price, with 75% being priced under $7,500 and the rest capped at $15,000. This year, the three-day extravaganza promises a more "tightly curated" lineup of galleries, including both local, Asian and international galleries. Galleries to look out for include Singapore's Whitestone Gallery, Australia's Sarah Birtles gallery and Chinese gallery Cospace.

Incoming Art Week Tokyo Sets City Abuzz

The hotly anticipated Art Week Tokyo is set to begin on the 2nd of November next week, featuring 11 institutions and 39 galleries in the city. Audiences can expect exciting new programs from the regional powerhouse, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, as well as the equally influential Mori Art Museum. Among others, the four-day event will feature newcomers such as Okinawa-based photographer Mao Ishikawa, as well as the return of famous international artists such as Monira Al Qadiri, Pierre Hugye and Apichatpong Weerasethakul in the exhibition "Our Ecology: Toward a Planetary Living".

Paris+ par Art Basel Concludes Successful Second Edition

The internationally acclaimed art show concluded earlier this week to resoundingly strong sales from all market segments, including 20th-century masters, blue-chip contemporary artists, mid-careee practitioners and emerging young names. Beside it's satisfying numbers, the show also pushed an impressive range of public art programs in 61 locations across the city, attracting over 38,000 participants across it's three-day run. Commentators noted the high levels of enthusiasm shown by French and international patrons, with one director telling the press that "Paris+ par Art Basel has been...one of the busiest fairs we've seen for years."

Museum of Censored Art Opens in Spain

Artists have often been subject to censorship, having sought to challenge the status quo and spark new conversations around difficult subjects. This has culminated in opening of the first-ever Museu de l'Art Prohibit (Museum of Forbidden Art) in Barcelona, featuring art from diverse artists as Pablo Picasso, Ai Weiwei and Robert Mapplethorpe. Many works satirise contemporary politicians such as Donald Trump, oppressive dictators like Francisco Franco and former revolutionaries such as Emiliano Zapata.

Toronto Art Scene Makes International Waves

As the most diverse city in the world, Toronto has reared decades' worth of successful artists, with emerging artists as Erin Amstrong, Gavin Lynch and Kyle Schuermann rising to international fame in recent years. Despite the fact that Canadian artists have traditionally been expected to attend art school in the US to earn success, newcomers to the field stay in the country and draw inspiration from their life while still experiencing success in the global market. This is mostly due to the city's bustling art infrastructure, with an impressive range of commercial galleries and nonprofit institutions. Torontonians are also enthusiastic art patrons, with studies showing that 70% of the city's population regularly attending, volunteer, or donate to the art scene.

New Data Tool 'Poisons' Image Generating AI

Developed by the University of Chicago, the new tool named 'Nightshade' allows artists to add invisible pixels to their work, which will destabilise any generative AI models that attempt to scrape the artwork into their collection for training. Professor Ben Zhao, leader of the developer team, expressed in their report that the tool aims to "protect [content owners'] intellectual property against model trainers that disregard or ignore copyright notices, do-not-scrape/crawl directives and opt-out lists". Since the rise of generative AI, artists have sued AI companies like Stability AI, MidJourney and DeviantArt for using their copyrighted material and personal information without consent.

Published on October 26, 2023

Yu Ke Dong

Ke Dong is a seasoned art writer and current double major in English Literature and Art History at NTU. Having worked with esteemed art institutions in Singapore, Ke Dong now regularly contributes his keen research skills, adept writing abilities and passion for art to the Art Works discourse.